Women in a male dominated profession

28. October 2010

A small electrician business sprang up in England in 2009. That in itself is not so interesting, but what is, is the fact that the company consists solely of women. It stands to reason that the small electrician firm is called Elecchicks.

The profession was entirely new and unfamiliar to the two women, who started the company up, when they set out to become electricians. “Originally we had an idea that we should be fitness coaches as we were both very much into fitness”, tells Christine Vaghela. “However it was during the financial crisis, and because fitness can be regarded as a luxury product we had to find something else. One day Leah came and suggested that we should be Electricians – and that was that!”

Workwear that is just right Everything was new when, the two women in their 30’s, began. Furthermore, they experienced, many times, that women were the minority in this industry. Simply finding Workwear suitable for women was difficult. “We sat in front of the PC for a long time looking for Workwear. Almost everything was targeted at men. It was only when we saw the Danish firm MASCOT’s Workwear that we saw light at the end of the tunnel!” said Leah Burman which shows that the two woman have tried many different types of work trousers that simply weren’t good enough. “It was even better when we got the Workwear home and began to work in it. Besides the fit for women, the built in work belts have impressed us greatly”, and Christine supplements: “And there are also plenty of pockets for tools and makeup!”

Electrician –the right course So why Electricians and not another trade? A question the two women toyed over for some time and there were different reasons for their choice of profession. “We estimated there was a market for female electricians and this has proven to be the case. Elecchicks has received many encouraging words from our male colleagues and there has been a lot of respect for our decision,“ tells Christine. The most obvious profession to choose as a woman would perhaps be a painter, but what would wehave called ourselves”, laughs Christine.

Encounter with prejudices It all started in January 2009. After a college course, Christine and Leah started an internship with an Electrician in Kent. “We watched over his shoulder at everything he did and he really taught us everything from the bottom and was very patient”, says Leah. Now the company is well underway and the two women have started to see success: “We will of course have a good job that we enjoy and an income to make ends meet. However, beyond that we will show that woman can do other things, other than just bake cakes! We also hope that we will inspire others to try their hand in male dominated industries”, ends the two entrepreneurs from Elecchicks.

“We have shown that woman can work in a male dominated environment and we hope we have inspired other women to try their hand in a man’s world” Elecchicks, Lean and Christine are prepared for another day of electricity wearing MASCOT Workwear.